The Death Machine
by Shax
Summary: While Sonic is away, Robotnik destroys Knothole by manipulating Sky Sanctuary.


THE DEATH MACHINE 

Series 2 - The Three Tests   
Episode 7   
The coming of the first test 

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PROLOGUE: 

Packbell emptied the bag onto the table. 

Vlad leaned over to investigate the contents. Mostly scrolls, and slabs of rock. "Aaah.. junk!" he said. "Not so!" replied Robotnik, picking up a scroll. "These inscriptions may contain information on the advanced weapons the echidnas weilded! They were brilliant scientists." There was a pause, and he added "On par with myself!" Vlad picked up a huge slab of rock with writing on it. The bold, italiced text hit the bat like a mack truck. 

"THE CHIPS OF THE GEM CONTAIN THE WRATH OF THE FIRST TEST   
THEY CONTAIN THE MONSTER TO END ALL LIFE.   
IF THE SEVEN PIECES THINE HOLD,   
AND A SMALL ANIMAL FED WITH GREY SO BRIGHT GLOWING,   
THE ULTIMATE PERFECT CHAOS WILL REIGN AGAIN." 

"Whoa Doc!" said Vlad. "I think THIS is pretty detrimental!" Robotnik studied the inscription. "Ha, rubbish." he said. "Sounds like a myth, to me. No, THIS is much better.. a weapon of mass destruction!" he showed Vlad and Packbell the scroll he was holding. Packbell read it out loud. 

"The second test was completed at last. We, the echidnas of the Chaos Isle, fought by hand what wasn't destroyed by Sky Sanctuary. Sky Sanctuary itself, however, shall never be used again in combat. It is far too dangerous - a weapon of mass destruction and terror. A death machine. Our weak links with the echidnas of Floating Island paid off.. Their guardian agreed to take Sky Sanctuary back onto his island, and inscripted a warning about its five phases, once activated. But, as far as we know, it still exists.. so hear me now:  
THE FIVE PHASES CANNOT BE STOPPED. The phases were created as protection for the Chaos Isle against the spawn of the second test. Phase one destroys any intruders in the direct viscinity, phase two initiates a freeze, which, unprovoked, will cover the surface of the planet, putting the foot soldiers out of order. Phase three will effectively disable their ships, and any remaining soldiers. Phase four serves no real purpose except for the protection of phase five, and to make certain it occurs. Phase five is the end. The phase which destroys all... the ultimate apocalyptic destruction.. Please note, that...." 

There was a pause. "Well?" asked Robotnik. Packbell hesitantly continued. 

"Please note that the Sky Sanctuary is the world's most evil and destructive weapon. Those who built it were unaware of the incredible risks. The stubborn guardian, Dartagnon, refused to take our advice and destroy it. It is still at the Floating Island. To activate it again is to die. Do not attempt the stupid." 

Robotnik grinned. "Oh, I don't think we need to heed that warning." he said. "Lets activate it, shall we?" "I would not advise." replied Packbell. "What??" demanded Robotnik, angrilly. "We may destroy the planet in the process." replied Packbell. "These runes mention in several places that the second 'phase' of this machine uses quicksleet to achieve its effect." Robotnik raised an eyebrow. "Quicksleet?" he asked. "What is that?" In reply, Packbell turned the room lights off. "AAH!! I'M BLIND!" shouted Vlad. Packbell activated a projector from his internal system, and projected an image on the wall. A picture of Mobius from out in space. "Quicksleet." said Packbell. "An EXTREMELY rare element, found only on Mobius, as far as anybody knows. The molecules are reactant to oxygen in the atmosphere, and immediately reduce their temperature to approxamitely negative eighty-two degrees." Something began to spread over the picture of Mobius.. something white. "The molecules spread extremely quickly." Packbell continued. "Eventually, the entire surface of the globe will be covered. It is the most dangerous substance in existance, and can reduce the planet to complete uselessness in one day." The lights came back on. 

"Well." said Robotnik. "I do not wish to rule an ice world.. But that is only if we use phase two, correct?" "Affirmative." replied Packbell. "But we do not have a choice.. Sky Sanctuary was apparently created to be hands-free. According to this information, once the machine is activated, it cycles through phases one through five automatically." Robotnik thought for a while. "Well, how about we alter it?" he asked. "Pardon?" asked Packbell. "It was created to be hands free?" Robotnik asked. "We will make it hands-on! Gather all the schematics you can find for this machine... We are developing a remote control." 

CHAPTER ONE: 

"WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!" howled Sagittarius. "Ay, get down!" shouted Sonic. "You'll fall off the wing!" "I CAN'T HELP IT!" Sage shouted over the whir of the biplane motor. "I'M GOING HOME!" "Yeah, well, keep your eyes on the water!" Sonic said. "You're the navigator.. if YOU can't get us to the Chaos Isle, the only alternative is to storm Robotropolis and flush out Robotnik's map! And that place frankly gives me the creeps after 'Buttnik stopped launching attacks.." "Why are you so nervous about that, anyway?" asked Sage. "Robotnik's given up! Why is that a bad thing?" "Robotnik's no quitter." replied Sonic. "When Robotnik stops attacking, it's because he's planning a BETTER way to attack. A new plan.. And I keep getting more worried about it every day." "We can beat Robotnik!" Sage protested. "We always DO!" Sonic sighed. "I wish I had your optimism." he said. "I just have the feeling that something terrible is going to happen." 

"AUGH!" Knuckles shouted, shooting up. "What's wrong?" asked Sally. "I.. I don't know." replied Knuckles, seating himself down again. "I just had this terrible feeling... like something terrible has just happened." "Like what?" asked Sally. "I don't know." replied Knux. "It feels like.. I dunno. Just a feeling." He yawned, and looked at a clock on the far wall. "Man, I just can't shake it!" he said, getting up. "I better check on my island. I hope this isn't the start of something terrible.." 

If only he had the slightest idea of how close to the apocalypse Mobius would come in the next three months. 

Mecha Sonic inspected the dimly-glowing orb. He picked up one of the shards, off the ground. There was the sound of static, and Robotnik's voice beamed at him. "Well?" he asked. Mecha put the two-way radio up to his 'mouth'. "Apon retrieving and inspecting schematics for the echidna weapon, an error code 6086 was discovered." "What does THAT mean?" Robotnik demanded. "It is broken." replied Mecha. "The Sky Sanctuary appears to get its energy from an orb.. on inspection of its composition, I could guess that it is in fact an eighth Super Emerald. But the orb is broken, sir. The weapon has no power source." There was a long pause. "I will create a generator." Robotnik said, at last. "It would be large to equal the power of a super emerald, sir." replied Mecha, skeptically. "So be it." replied Robotnik. 

Sage stepped onto the island. "See?" he asked. "I TOLD you I'd get us here!" He began to run around madly, remembering the good times he used to have there. Sonic snickered, and pushed the Tornado biplane behind some bushes. "Greetings, Sonic." came a voice. Sonic started, and swung around. An echidna stared at him, silently. "Hey.. hey, Pantheos!" Sonic exclaimed, grinning. Pantheos smiled. "Yes." he said. "It is nice to see you again, Sonic. You are always welcome on our isle. How is the young Sagittarius?" Sonic pointed to Sage, who was walking around smelling flowers. "Ah, so you have both returned!" Pantheos said. Sage caught a glimpse of the old echidna, and came running over. "HEY PANTHEOS!" he yelled. "GREAT TO SEE YOU!" Pantheos chuckled. "It is good to see you again, too, young one, despite the dark times." "Huh?" asked Sage. "Dark times?" asked Sonic. "Why, yes" replied the old echidna. "Sagittarius, do you recall what I have taught you about the three tests?" Sage nodded. "What three tests?" asked Sonic, confused. Sage looked up at him. "A very important part of our history." he said. "Why do you not tell the young hedgehog of what you have learned?" Pantheos asked Sage. He turned to Sonic. "It may prove quite enlightening.. and useful." 

"In the beginning, the echidnas were created, and placed on Mobius. When we had advanced for about 2000 years, the gods thought it necissary to test our wisdom and strength. So they sent three tests to examine our advancement. The first test was a test of our agility and strength. A massive and fearsome monster was sent down from the heavens for us to battle. His name was Xnaoo. We defeated him by splitting seven chips off the Havoc Gem, and using them against Xnaoo, which split him up, and contained him inside them. 

The second test was a test of our minds. Waves of grotesque monsters came down, and we could not fight them all. We had a small alliance with the guardian of the Floating Island, Dartagnon." 

"Knux's grandfather!" Sonic whispered 

"The Floating Island had a weapon that Dartagnon offered to lend us to fight the waves of attackers. It succeeded, but almost wiped us out in the process. The machine was extremely dangerous, and it itself became the bulk of the second test. We had to use our minds to the extent to figure out how to shut the machine down before it reached the end of its movement. 

The third test was the test we failed. It was a combination of a mind test and an agility test. Our failure to fight off the spawn of this test angered the gods, and the majority of the echidnas were recalled to the stars, leaving only a handful of echidnas, to re-build the civilization." 

"Nice story.." commented Sonic. "Oh, it's all true, my friend." said Pantheos. "And I am about to tell you another story.. one that you have not heard before, Sagittarius." "Oh?" asked Sage, excitedly. "It is a story of the future. Of the apocalypse, which will destroy the planet at the end of the millennium." Sonic gulped. "What, end-of-the-world type stuff?" he asked. Pantheos nodded. "There is however a rumour that the final destruction can be prevented, if the gods are impressed more than they were with the three tests." "Tell us of the story, Pantheos!" insisted Sage. Pantheos nodded. "The event will be carried out in the form of the original three tests, but the danger will be increased dramatically for each. It begins when the mechanical army returns to the Chaos Isle, and robs us of our literature. The meaning of this is uncertain. But seven days later, on the first day of the month, the second test will be carried out once again. The Mobians will have to strain themselves to the limit in order to shut down the machine which endangered us once before. Exactly one month following that, on the first of the next month, the third test will be reversed. That is, Mobians will travel to the stars to battle the third test over, and attempt to return the echidnas to Mobius once again.  
Exactly one month following that, on the first of the next month, the first test will be fought again. This will be the most detrimental thing that anybody on our planet will have to do, and whether or not the test can be passed will decide on the fate of the planet. 

Sonic stood and stared, wide-eyed. "So, how long do you reckon we have to prepare for this?" he asked. Suddenly, Pantheos' expression changed. "Alas.. there is no time." he replied. "No time?" asked Sonic. "Wh..WHY?" "It has been written, the date has been set." replied Pantheos. "It is with regret that I must release this information known only by Gregor and I.. that, exactly seven days ago, no more and no less, the mechanical army returned to this isle to claim our ancient literature." 

Sage's heart skipped a beat. "You mean..?" 

"Yes, Sagittarius. This very day, the first of October 1999, is the predicted date of the revival of the second test. The re-activation of the most terrible and destructive piece of machinary known to echidna." 

CHAPTER TWO: 

Knuckles looked around, standing atop Middle Mountain, at the centre of the Floating Island. He gazed at his island, trying to discover what was the cause of the deep and un-dying sense of dread he had felt all day. He squinted, as he looked towards the east. Something was missing. He knew not what, but SOMETHING, some piece of scenery, was missing. There was an unusually empty feeling about the place. He turned his head, and counted the mountains. They were all there. He gazed at the tips of the Icecap mountains.. then lowered his eyes to the volcano, then the ground. Mushroom Hill was green as ever, a cloud of spores and pollen was hovering over it as usual. The forest was streaming with life.. nothing out of ordinary there. The Hydrocity pumps appeared to be operating normally.. Marble Gardens was quiet as ever. The abandoned Carnival City was still gathering dust, Knux hadn't been there in quite some time. He scratched his head and looked over at Sandopolis.. still the same old dry barren wasteland. Just to be sure, he counted the pyramids. None missing. Puzzled, he glided off the mountain, over to the hollow volcano, swooped down, and landed in Lava Reef. Everything was operating as normal, he noticed as he headed towards Hidden Palace. Perhaps he would get a better look atop Sky Sanctuary. He entered Hidden Palace, and activated a teleporter. Standing on it, he wondered briefly what he would discover. His question was answered when the teleporter glowed red, then de-activated. "Eh..?" Knux said. He looked down, reached over and re-activated it. It glowed red for a few seconds, then turned off. Knux came to two conclusions.. either the teleporter was broken, or the adjoining teleporter was out of range. But if it was the latter... where could Sky Sanctuary have gone? 

"De-activate city sheild." commanded Robotnik. The protective barrier around Robotropolis vanished, as three objects came into view. Flying Battery and Wing Fortress were working together to haul a massive hovering object towards the city. It was Sky Sanctuary. The huge ancient machine, orbited by blocks and pillars. Mecha Sonic was standing apon it, studying it, and Packbell controlled both airships. Robotnik grinned, as he saw his weapon being placed over the city. He had seen Sky Sanctuary before.. he passed it in the Death Egg the year before. However, he had never thought for a second that it was the most destructive weapon in echidna history.. possibly the history of Mobius. As the scriptures said, it was a death machine. Exactly what Robotnik needed to rid the world of the Freedom Fighters forever. 

"NASHA! HEY SIS!!" shouted Sage, waving his arms around. The other echidna turned her head. "Sage?" she asked. "WOW! SAGE!" The two locked together in a hug. "Wow!" said Nasha again. "What are YOU doing here?" "Visiting" replied Sage. "How are things here?" "Oh, fine" replied Nasha. "Despite the fact that Great Uncle Pantheos keeps telling us that the apocalypse is coming.." "Yeah, I heard." replied Sage. "That's creepy stuff.. you think it will come true?" Nasha shrugged. "Hey, where's Sonic?" Sage asked. That moment, Sonic came up beside him. "Right here, bud!" he said, smiling at Nasha. Nasha grinned and waved back. "This village sure is friendly.." said Sonic, holding up the array of necklaces and beads he was given by the villagers. Nasha giggled. "Hey guys.. come over here, I wanna introduce you to someone. She led them to an open tent near the middle of the village. Someone was working at a table inside. A bright red echidna.. he was wearing spectacles, held a pencil in one hand, and a cup filled with a strange liquid in the other. He took a sip out of the cup, and stared intently at a sheet of paper rolled out in front of him. He was marking 'X's on it. Nasha stepped inside the tent, and walked up to him. "Lex.. Lex, hey Lex.." "WHAT? HUH?" asked the echidna, with a start. He saw Nasha. "Oh.. hi, Nash.. what's up?" Nasha pointed to Sage and Sonic. "My brother and his friend are here.." "Brother? From the mainland?" asked the echidna. He removed his glasses, and looked over at Sage and Sonic. He got up and walked over to them. "Well.. great to meet you!" he said. "And you are..?" asked Sage, raising an eyebrow. The echidna grabbed his hand, and shook furiously. "My name's Backorafice Lexington Echidna." he said. "But everyone calls me Lex.. it's shorter." Sage pulled his hand away. "Uh.. Sagittarius Echidna." he said. "And this is Sonic Hedgehog." Lex grinned at Sonic. "Extraordinary.." he said. "I have never seen first hand someone from the genus Hedgehogus Sapian.. especially not one of such exotic colour.." "Uh.... thanks." said Sonic, not sure whether to be flattered or insulted. "So.. uh Lex.." Sage began. Nasha walked up to Lex, and put her arm around him. "I've heard a lot about you!" Lex commented to Sage. "Such an extraordinary archer.. I am glad to call you my brother-in-law!" 

"WHAT?" asked Sage. Nasha rolled her eyes. "We're not married YET." she said. "Lex is my fiance." "Uh.. cool!" replied Sage. "Congrats, sis! When's the wedding?" "A couple of weeks." replied Nasha. While the two were talking, Sonic turned to Lex. "So, Lex.. what do you do?" he asked, motioning to the tent. "Huh? Pardon me, hedgehog?" Lex asked. "Uh.. just wondering what you do in that tent." replied Sonic. "And you can call me Sonic." "Oh, of course.. 'Sonic'." said Lex. "Well, I am a historian, an explorer, a mapper.. mostly, I study the so-called 'Havoc Gem', and the echidna culture surrounding it. One day, I hope to discover the wherabouts of such a jewel. Sonic began to speak, but stopped himself. He, Sage and Pantheos all knew the location of the Havoc Gem, but Sonic decided to let Lex have his glory. "And I know that the gem might be the only thing that will save us from the second test." Lex continued. "See, I have studied the ancient three tests of the echidnas closely.. I know that the second test is said to return soon.. if not this very day! So I am setting up a search for the gem to take place today, and.. Oh, I'm sorry, I must be confusing you terribly." "Confusing?" asked Sonic. "Oh, no.. I think I can follow.." "I mean, who knows what kinds of exotic religions you hedgehog tribes have set up!" Lex interrupted. "All of this must be terribly pressing on you. You are very well spoken, where do you come from?" Sonic looked at the echidna strangely. "Um.. from the mainland.." "What is your native language?" Lex asked. Sonic felt a little interrogated. "Uh.. THIS is." he said. "Oh really?" asked Lex, surprised. "Well, I really must get back to my work. It has been a pleasure meeting you, hedgehog!" he turned to Nasha. "Nasha, dear.." he asked. Nasha turned to him. "I may need your help on a little something over here. See, the axis of the ruins to the east is a little off-balance.. I thought perhaps you could see....." His voice faded out, as he and Nasha entered the tent again. "Well..!" exclaimed Sage. "Nasha's getting married!" "Yeah!" replied Sonic. "Man.. that guy thinks I'm some kind of specimen!" "Oh.. heh!" Sage chuckled. "That's understandable. It's a theory among explorers that hedgehogs are savages." "Savages?" Sonic asked, laughing. "Well, then! That's new.." 

"Yessss!" Robotnik hissed. "This is.. very interesting!" He stood atop Sky Sanctuary, and was using an X-ray machine to inspect the contents. "This is the largest machine I have ever seen!" he said. "PACKBELL! BRING THE GENERATOR UP HERE!" Packbell heard Robotnik's order from the inside of Robotropolis, via a communication radio. "Just ten minutes, my leige." he said. "I am still adjusting it, so it runs with perfect efficiency." "Understood.. but hurry along!" Robotnik ordered. Packbell was creating a generator that would serve as a power source for Sky Sanctuary. In order to equal the power output of the emerald orb that was once atop the machine, Packbell had to extract the internal power cores of several robots. In order not to disadvantage Robotropolis' security factor, he used obsolete robots. Two tubes stood in the main foyer of Robotnik's palace. One contained the charred, pathetic remains of Silver Sonic, the other contained the original Mecha Sonic prototype.. the large, bulky robot who was destroyed by Knuckles, ironically, on Sky Sanctuary. Their main power cores were transferred to the new power generator. Also backing up the generator were the corpses of several SWAT-bots.. Robotnik's obsolete army. They were inefficiant, so they were replaced by E-100s. Soon, Packbell planned to work on upgrading the robots once again.. to create series E-101. Speech capabilities and more powerful weapons were a must.. but first, he had to put the finishing touches on the generator. "There." he said. "Finished." 

"Hey! Sky Sanctuary!" Sonic exclaimed, looking at a drawing. "That machine you were talking about.. it's Sky Sanctuary?" Pantheos nodded. "Yes, I believe that is what it is called." Sonic giggled. "Well, what are we worried about?" he asked. "This 'second test' thing isn't gonna happen again! I put Sky Sanctuary out of commission MONTHS ago! It's definately taken its last breath." "Hey.. yes, I remember!" replied Sage. "He's right, Great Uncle! Sky Sanctuary is dead! We've got nothing to worry about today!" Pantheos looked skeptical. "Things find a way." he replied. 

"TESTING SKY SANCTUARY OPERATION CODE RED!" Shouted Mecha Sonic. The robot held a large remote control in his metallic hand. It had six colour-coded buttons - red, blue, orange, white, black and a very large green one with a cross on it. The second one, the light blue button, was marked as dangerous (As if the others weren't). Mecha flipped up the safety cap for the first button, and firmly placed his thumb on it. The button let out a 'beep', and lit up red. There was silence for the first few seconds, when suddenly the generator on Sky Sanctuary let out a 'beep', and a small red light appeared on it. The entire machine began to shake, and the hovering blocks, platforms, pillars and discs began to orbit in circles around the center pole. A few minutes passed, and the four teleportation devices turned, and shot four beams of light at an apex above the generator. Robotnik watched the spectacle from his balcony. He waited in anticipation for his weapon to do whatever it was going to do. A long pole, like a lightning rod, began to extend from the generator. It went up, up, up, until it came in contact with the apex of light. This was the part Packbell was waiting for.. since the orb had been destroyed, he had to reconstruct the conditions of this phase artificially. Guns began to emerge from the generator, as the rod sucked power from the beams of red light. The entire thing began to power up, and there was silence for a while, until one of the guns discharged a powerful beam. It shot through the air, and landed directly on target.. a patrolling E-100 droid. The shot completely shattered the robot, and other nearby E-100s fled in terror. Robotnik's face lit up. Sky Sanctuary began to fire more and more shots, destroying robots left right and center. Robotnik gave the signal to stop the test, not wishing to wipe out his entire army before the Freedom Fighters are brought to their knees. Mecha nodded, and pushed the large green button. Immediately, the rod retracted, the light beams switched off, and the discs and platforms slowed to a stop. Packbell grinned, Robotnik laughed, and Mecha simply stood there, not knowing whether the machine would bring victory or destruction to Robotropolis... 

"The second test WILL return today." mumbled Lex. "Huh?" asked Nasha, turning to face him. The echidna was sitting at a table, with a candle shining brightly, even though the mid-day light through the window was probably sufficient. "It's going to happen again, my dear." he mumbled. "And when it does, I'll be ready. Everyone else is so skeptical.. they think nothing can be done. But I'll show those 'gods' who's boss." He made the sign for inverted commas with his fingers, when he said 'gods'. Nasha sighed. "I dunno." she said. "I don't think this machine is coming back.. it's so far away, we'll never have to worry about it again." 

"TESTING SKY SANCTUARY OPERATION CODE ORANGE!" Mecha shouted. He pressed the orange button on the remote control. A few seconds later, a likewise-coloured light on the Sky Sanctuary generator lit up, and the orbit-stones began to turn once again. This time, they turned faster and faster.. they were constantly accelerating.. they didn't show any signs of slowing down. They were going so fast that the emerald-powered bond between the orbiters and the main pole weakened, and the stones and discs extended outwards from the pole which they orbited. Soon, they finally stopped accelerating, and kept a constant speed. The lid of the machine moved aside, and a massive pipe like the barrel of a gun began to grow out from it. "Hmm.. what will THIS do?" Robotnik thought to himself, almost unable to contain his excitement. The gun began to omit a thick, brown cloud. Robotnik was slightly disappointed. The cloud began to spread, and soon covered the sky. The sound of thunder could be heard. Robotnik looked again at the scroll. "Phase three will effectively disable their ships, and any remaining soldiers." he read. "What does it do, block out their vision? Shut it off, Mecha." He signalled, and Mecha pressed the green button. The cloud stopped forming, and the gun retracted back into the machine. The lights turned off. 

Knuckles the Echidna burst into Sally's hut. Sally shot up. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Sky Sanctuary.. is.. gone." he said, out of breath. "Sky Sanctuary?" Sally asked. "The.. artifact.. on my island." Knux replied, sitting down. "It's the machine that turned us all to ice." "Yeah, I remember!" interrupted Streak the Cat, walking in. "That was terrible! That massive wave of ice.. it just came bursting in, freezing everything!" "Oh, I remember." replied Sally. "I tripped over, and the last thing I can remember is.. cold.." She rubbed her shoulders and shivered a little from the memory. "If it gets activated again..." began Knux, is eyes widening from the thought. "Impossible!" replied Streak. "Sonic said he smashed the orb! It's some kind of power source, the machine won't function without it." He was cut off by the sound of lightning, and the fall of rain outside. "Eh? That's funny.." Sally said. "It's raining.. it was sunny a second ago.." Knuckles raised an eyebrow, and looked at Streak. "Streak, was their RAIN the last time Sky Sanctuary was activated?" The cat shrugged. "I do seem to remember rain.... yes.. yeah, in Sandopolis, there was one heck of a hurricane!" "What on Mobius is going on up there?" Sally asked. Knuckles looked out the window.. the clouds were parting. Sun was shining through. "That was too quick." Knux declared. "Something was behind that, and I have an idea that I know EXACTLY what it is." 

CHAPTER THREE: 

Mecha Sonic walked down the hallway, to report what had happened during the third Sky Sanctuary test. He had tested the white button, but Robotnik had urgent matters to attend to at the time. The test was nothing special.. the machine simply emitted a mist with a sedative effect. The robot approached Robotnik's door, but it was closed, with a large sign on it saying "DO NOT ENTER, EVEN IF URGENT." Mecha took a step back, but could hear voices behind the big fortress door. The robot tuned in his hearing. It was Robotnik's voice. Who was he talking to? "I am very confident this time, sir." he said. Mecha thought this strange. Robotnik NEVER EVER called ANYBODY 'sir'. After all, what reason would the highest (and widest) form of life in the universe have to recognise authority? "You had better hope so." came another voice that Mecha did not recognise. Kind of squauky, but powerful. "What you borrow from the empire, you give back to the empire. If you do not give back to the empire, you will be DESTROYED by the empire." Mecha jerked back at the stranger's hostile reply. "I swear to you, sir, all repayments will be made in full!" Robotnik replied. "I just need more time!" "I HAVE GIVEN YOU PLENTY OF TIME!" came the reply. "I am losing my patience, but I will be lenient. THE END OF THE MONTH, Robotnik." On that note, the sounds from Robotnik's chamber fell silent. "May I enter, sir?" Mecha shouted. He expected Robotnik to scream 'can't you read?' or something, but instead, the hesitated reply came as "Yes, you may." 

Mecha entered the chamber, to find Robotnik rubbing his temples, sitting next to the video-communicator. That must have been what he was talking to. Knowing that Robotnik would rip his head off for eavesdropping, Mecha decided to keep to himself what he had heard. "Did you test the fourth phase?" asked Robotnik. "Yes sir" replied Mecha. "The machine emits a sedative mist. It is a kind of drug I have never seen before.. very effective." "Excellent!" replied Robotnik, his mood brightening up. "We can use this chemical to our advantage!" "Do you wish me to test the fifth phase, sire?" Mecha asked. Robotnik nodded his head 'yes'. "After phase five is tested, launch an attack on Knothole. Level it!" Mecha nodded, and walked away. He was stopped halfway when Robotnik called his name again. "Mecha." he said. Mecha turned his head. "We HAVE to succeed, this time, Mecha." Robotnik said. "If we do not, I am afraid to think of what could become of us." "Afraid, sire?" asked Mecha, startled that Robotnik would admit to such a thing. Robotnik didn't reply - he simply motioned for Mecha to keep walking. 

"Well, I am off to make a discovery!" Lex shouted. The entire village of echidnas looked up at him. "I am taking a team of men with me to search for the Havoc Gem!" Lex announced. Sage gasped. "Why?" he asked. "Because we are going to pass the second test when it comes around again!" Lex replied. "Sometime VERY soon, the ancient second test is going to repeat itself! And the only thing that can save us is the Havoc Gem! Now, after MONTHS of research, I am SURE I have discovered its location! I just need to bring my team, and...." "Backorafice!" shouted Pantheos. The echidna turned to him. "Yeah?" "Let the gem rest, young one." Pantheos said. "What? Why?" demanded Lex. "It brings trouble to the untrained." "POPPYCOCK, YOU OLD FOOL!" Lex shouted. Nasha ran up to him, to try and calm him down. "Lex, please.." she pleaded. "No, Nasha, I am going to do this." Lex insisted. "I don't care what this fool thinks, it is up to me alone to save this planet from the second test's return." "No it isn't!" replied Nasha. "WELL WHO ELSE WILL?" Lex demanded. "Look at all these mindless echidnas, just walking around, working on the feilds, completely oblivious to the fact that their end could be close." He turned, and motioned with his hand. Three other echidnas approached him. "I am taking my team into the mountains, it should take around an hour." Lex said. "I shall return in the afternoon with more power than you can imagine! I shall show the gods that we are NOT just an inferior race. They are testing us again, and we shall not fail this time." he turned, and left. Pantheos approached Sonic. "That's one determined fella.." Sonic said. "Can I trust you to attempt to stop him?" Pantheos asked. "Sure thing! Wanna go on a trek, Sage? Let's juice.." 

Knuckles stepped out of his hut.. the ominous feeling that had lingered with him all day was still there. "Sally!" he shouted. Sally turned around, and began to approach him. "Sal, I think we should up the defence of Knothole.. just for today." Sally nodded. "I already did.. if that Sky Sanctuary thing is back, I think.." she began.. suddenly, something appeared over the trees.. it was coming straight for them. A missile. "INCOMING!" Knuckles yelled. He and Sally jumped out of the way, and the object hit the ground, embedding itself in the dirt. No explosion, or anything. Knuckles picked himself up, and walked over to it. Something began to move on it.. a screen was revealed on the side. On the screen was Robotnik's snarling face. "Robotnik!" Knuckles exclaimed. "Yes, you pitiful echidna.. it's me, your old friend Ivo!" Robotnik snarled. "I was blind back then, Robotnik.. you're not my friend, nor will you ever fool me again! I will never help you.." "NONSENSE!" Robotnik snapped back. "You have already helped me more than you know... your precious Sky Sanctuary.. I have captured it! And now it is going to be used to spread my rule across this planet!" "I KNEW IT!" Knux exclaimed. "Look, Robotnik, that thing is more dangerous than even you can handle!" "Unlikely." Robotnik replied promptly. "I have ressurected it, improved it, and now I'm going to use your own weapon against you!" "But.. LISTEN TO ME!!" Knuckles tried to reason with him. "GAME OVER, Knuckles." Robotnik yelled. Before Knux could do anything else, the missile began to pour a thick gas into the air. Knux coughed and spluttered, and then began to feel tired. "What's this, morphene?" he asked, falling to his knees. More missiles flew through the air, and landed in Knothole with a clunk, pouring mist into the air. It began to cloud over the entire village, and everyone was falling asleep.. villagers, guards, everyone. There was the sound of marching and trees being cut down. E-100s. Sounded like thousands of them. It was bad. 

"Sire, the sedative mist has been deployed.. the missiles hit target." "Excellent. Send the weapon, Mecha." 

"Oi! Lex, check this out!" shouted an echidna. He revealed a crack in the wall, light pouring through. Lex put down his notes, and stared through. "YES!" he hissed. "That's IT! The Havoc Gem! Get out the equipment, Gregory!" Another echidna pulled out a box of tools, while Lex slid through the crack and into the chamber. There were glowing crystals everywhere.. red and blue ones. The Havoc Gem itself was also a mixture of red and blue. Lex stared at an inscription at the base of the gem. "Hango Dominae." he muttered. "What begins must end. Odd thing to write." He held his hand out, and motioned to his collegues. They handed him a hammer and chisel. Lex stared at the surface of the gem.. there were seven dents in the surface. "I can see where the Chaos Emeralds were removed.." he muttered. "If I just bang on the right spot, it should emit pressure on a weakness in the shell of the crystal.." he put the chisel down, against the surface of the gem, and began to tap, until a crack appeared. After a while, there was a burst of energy that threw the echidna backwards. "Gosh, are you alright?" asked one of the echidnas. "I'm fine." replied Lex. He looked at the ground in front of the Havoc Gem. There was something yellow and glowing. "Interesting." Lex muttered, picking it up. An emerald shard. "When a piece of emerald is separated from the gem, it takes on its own colour.. I shall have to investigate the science of that... but first..!" He clenched his fist around the emerald shard, and his skin began to glow dimly. The shard he chipped off was considerably larger than a Chaos Emerald. It gave him a steady flow of energy.. made him super. "Yes.. yes, I have the power!" Lex shouted. "Can we go home, now?" asked one of the other echidnas. "Home?" asked Lex. "HOME?? YOU WANT TO GO HOME??" he burst out cackling.. his team-mates looked at each other strangely. 

Knuckles opened his eyes sleepily. Through the mist, he could see fire. He tried to get up, but he was just too tired. He went back to sleep. He dreamed about nothing-in-particular.. he was hot, and he woke up again. The fire was close, now. How long had he slept? He could hear robots.. taking the village apart. His unbelievable weariness took away all his cares about anything. He fell asleep again. He dreamed about running. Not much else. But then he met somebody. "Who are you?" he asked. The figure just stood there, and didn't reply. He looked like some kind of Jester or clown, in a purple suit, and in his early teens, if not pre-teens. "Reala." he replied, eventually. "What are you doing here?" Knuckles asked. "I'm here because I'm supposed to wake you up, or something." "Wake me up?" asked Knuckles, raising an eyebrow. "Or something?" "Look, Dorkus, just wake up." Reala replied. "I'm not asleep." replied Knux. Reala sighed. "DUH!" he yelled, knocking on Knux's head with his knuckles. Knux pulled away, and something jumped out at him. A massive creature, made of water. It loomed over him.. it was fuzzy, he couldn't really make out what it was, exactly. It opened it's liquified mouth, and fire burst out of it with an explosion. Knux shot up, sweating. The terrifying nightmare had woken him up long enough to be aware of the fire around him. The village was a complete mess, there was hardly anything left. Robots swarmed everywhere, destroying everything. "Whoa!" Knux shouted, falling backwards. Robotnik really HAD won against Knothole! And in only a matter of hours! "ROBOTNIK!!" Knuckles screamed. As if in reply, a massive object loomed overhead, in the sky. "CURSE YOU!" Knuckles screamed. "CURSE YOU TO HELL, SKY SANCTUARY!!" A beam came out of the machine, and struck a tree, which instantly burst into flames. Another beam shot out, and hit a robot, shattering it. Knuckles stopped raging and thought about it. Sky Sanctuary obviously was not sensitive about what it destroyed.. it was blind as to whether a target was Robotropolean or Knotholean.. it simply destroyed everything within range. 

Mecha Sonic looked over the destruction of the village before him. All in his hands. It gave him a rather evil sense of pleasure. He looked down at the remote control, and chose the orange button. In reply, Sky Sanctuary began to produce thick, black cloud. He moved a small joystick, and the machine moved further into the heart of Knothole. There was thunder, and then rain began to fall. Mecha looked around.. there was no shelter for him. The trees were all burned away. As the rain fell heavily onto his hull, an internal alert sounded in his main system. He noticed other robots had also stopped moving. Mecha pressed the 'stop' button, but the remote control zapped electricity in reply. Sky Sanctuary began to move, slowly at first, but then it sped up. The fire was all smothered, and it was visibly night time, now that its glow had gone. Knuckles looked up.. what was the machine doing? It was moving away from Knothole at a high speed. Mecha desperately tried to fix the malfunctioning remote control, but he didn't sense the thunder, his sensory equipment failing. One second he was fiddling with the remote.. there was a flash of light, a an electric blue flame, a power surge, a system failure, and Mecha Sonic, the stone statue, fell to the ground like the rock he was, hurling the remote into the bushes as he collapsed. 

"YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST ME!" Lex screamed, throwing the echidna against the wall. His victim was powerless against his emerald-enhanced attacker. "YOU'RE ALL AGAINST ME!! I MUST KILL YOU ALL!!" Sonic the Hedgehog stumbled through the crack in the wall, followed by Sage. Lex stopped what he was doing, and looked at them. Sonic stared dumbfoundedly at the scene.. Lex was hovering slightly, surrounded by his teammates who were all badly injured. One of them appeared dead. "Backorafice!" Sonic shouted, out of breath. "What the heck?" "I had to defend myself, savage." Lex snarled. "They were plotting against me.. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, ANYWAY?" "We came to stop YOU!" Sonic replied. "Lex, the gem has warped your mind.. all the evil it has absorbed over the years, it is clouding your mind.." "SILENCE!" screamed Lex. "You don't even belong on this island! Everything was FINE until you brought your evil here!! And YOU, Sagittarius! YOU HAVE BEEN AGAINST ME SINCE YOU MET ME!! YOU HATE THE IDEA OF YOUR SISTER BEING PINNED TO ME!!" The mad echidna swooped at the two, and Sage tried to load his bow with an arrow.. he was knocked head-over-heels before he could. Sonic leaped at him and tried to knock the emerald shard out of his hands, but he missed. Lex turned, grabbed him by the arm, and threw him. 

Sky Sanctuary hurled through the air out of control, it broke through the Great Forest and drifted towards Robotropolis. "Sire, there is something you should know." Packbell said. Robotnik looked out the window.. he saw his machine flying back towards him at top speed. "Why is Mecha retreating?" he asked. "He is not, sire." Packbell replied, sounding unnerved. "We are no longer picking up signals from Mecha, and it appears that he is no longer controlling the machine." He was cut off by the clap of thunder. "MECHA! STOP THE MACHINE!" Robotnik demanded into an intercom. Sky Sanctuary continued to drift towards them. "MECHA!! MECHA, CEASE AT ONCE!!" No change, and another clap of thunder. Packbell grabbed Robotnik's arm. "It is not going to stop, and I have triangulated it's course, it is going to collide with US. We MUST flee, sire!" Robotnik picked himself up, and half-ran-half-stumbled down the stairs from his office.. now able to hear the sound of the whirring machine flying through the air at top speed. 

"SAGE! GET THE EMERALD OFF HIM!" Sonic yelled. Sage pulled out an arrow, bent back his bow and fired.. it hit Lex's skin and bounced right off. He tried again, but Lex's super-powered fist knocked him across the room. "DON'T BE SSSSSTUPID!!" he screamed. Sonic jumped up and swiped at the echidna, but only served as an annoyance. Sage flipped around and shot another arrow - this time, it hit the emerald and whacked it out of Lex's hand. "NOO!" he screamed, swooping for it.. but he missed, and flew back into the air.. just as the emerald energy wore off, and he came down again. Screaming, he fell twenty metres and landed on his stomach on top of the Havoc Gem. Pain running through his body was replaced by the sensation of power.. the echidna's skin began to glow brighter and brighter until it was like looking at the sun.. whiter beams of light shooting from his eyes. "...And that would be NOT good, right?" Sonic asked. 

Thunderous claps of lightning ripped through the sky, turning the black of night into day.. every time the lightning hit something, it turned to stone. Trees, robots.. the attack on Knothole had completely halted because all of the robots were statues.. the villagers, still asleep from the bizarre drug, were too low to the ground to attract the stone lightning. Clouds continued to pour from the machine as it hurled itself towards Robotropolis. 

Lex let out a horrendous cackle as he shot orbs of power towards the hedgehog and the archer.. his skin glowing brighter all the time. "YOU CANNOT BEAT ME!" he screamed, white light pouring from his mouth. Sage shot an arrow at him, but it vapourised before it got close. The orbs Lex hurled smacked against the stone wall, erupting, and causing the cave to become unstable.... stalagmites fell from the roof... 

The thunder got louder, Sky Sanctuary entered Robotropolis, whizzing past buildings at hundreds of kilometers an hour.. speeding up all the time. The pillars and blocks could hardly keep up with the speed of the main pole. 

Lex became so bright that the wave of heat filled the cave. The insane echidna continued to fight his enemies.. he held out his arm and zapped Sonic with some sort of electric shock. 

Sky Sanctuary whizzed faster and faster and faster... robots had no time to figure out what it was... 

Backorafice Lexington Echidna got brighter and brighter and brighter... Sonic and Sage had no time to figure out what would happen..... 

In the next second, amidst the cackling of Lex and the whirring of Sky Sanctuary, Mobius was shaken by two simultanious explosions.. the blast as Lex the echidna ultimately exploded in a fury of power, and the collision between Sky Sanctuary and the main tower of Robotropolis. With the former, Sonic and Sage were virtually thrown out of the cave, which then began to collapse in on itself, unable to take the pressure. As for the latter, the tower was no match for the almost equal-in-size machine crashing into it at top speed. Sky Sanctuary ripped through the largest building in Robotropolis, and continued to fly in a very erratic path until it, now weakened, was caught in trees on the other side of the city. 

EPILOGUE: 

"I'll get it to fly again." Knuckles said to Sally, after the village had woken up. "It probably won't ever work again after the damage that was inflicted on it.. frankly, I'm relieved at that. I found the remote control that Mecha Sonic was using to control it, it's a little short-circuited, but the directional controls still work. I'll just float it back to my island." Sally stared at all the dead E-100 robots around the place. They were metal again, but completely inactive. Apparently, being turned to stone had an adverse effect on the droids. Robotnik would need to produce a new army, because he had deployed everything he had in that mission. 

Mecha Sonic walked slowly and jerkingly towards his home town. He was waterlogged, overloaded, and something bizarre was wrong with his curcuitry after the strange stone lightning. It was a miracle he was still operating, and able to return to RObotropolis for his repairs.. he could see fire and smoke in the centre of the city, and knew he would not be returning to a happy dictator. 

Sage tried to comfort his bawling sister, after she was informed about Lex. Three of the five-echidna team were alive and recovered to the village, and by this time it was midnight. Sonic was talking to Pantheos. "You weren't wrong about something weird happening, today.." he said. "Yes, it has been a sorrowful and harsh day for all of us, especially young Nasha. Terribly tragic, the corruption of Backorafice. I could do nothing other but warn him. However, these events have not been the test." Sonic looked at him. "Eh? So it DIDN'T happen?" "I did not say that." replied Pantheos. "The Chaos Isle is no longer the center of civilization.. there are many intelligent creatures on this planet. The gods need not test US, they could base the test anywhere on Mobius." "So it could have happened, just not on the island?" Pantheos nodded. "Let's just say.. when you return to your Knothole village, your friends may have some very interesting stories to tell." He smiled, and the two visitors said their goodbyes. It was time for them to get back in the biplane and go home... as they left, Pantheos watched them go. "The second test will return, and the very force which prevented it the first time shall be the threat at hand, and will wipe out one third of the steel army." he muttered. "I trust all went well, and the prophecy went foward.." 

THE END FOR NOW 

"The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come - Revelation 9:12" 

SERIES TWO CHRONOLOGY:   
1. The New Girl   
2. Dragon the Chain   
3. Never Say Nemesis   
4. When a Hedgehog Meets a Fox   
5. Just Your Imagination   
6. Shred   
7. The Death Machine   
8. Metal Made Flesh   
9. Power Corrupts   
10. Halfway Across the Galaxy   
11. Two For One   
12. Prologue to an Adventure   
13. Adventure

   [1]: http://www.stas.net/1/shax/Virtualden.html
   [2]: mailto:Shaxr@angelfire.com



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